Aftermath
by tj thw8s
Summary: Written prior to Band Candyspeculation on JoyceGiles?


Title: Aftermath Author: tj thw8s E-mail:tjthw8s@telusplanet.net Rating: PG Spoilers: Band Candy (sort of, this is idle speculation based on the previews) Summary: Just a silly thought I had about what might happen between teen- influenced Joyce and the returned Ripper. Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters, Joss does. I'm just taking a quick dip in his pool.  
  
Aftermath by tj thwaites (aka the dyslexic ferret)  
  
"I just want to check and make sure my Mom is back to normal," Buffy told Faith as the two Slayers turned the corner onto Revello Drive, "Then we can see if we can find out where Giles disappeared to."  
  
"Sure thing, Bee," Faith replied, ignoring the annoyed look from Buffy, "But I gotta tell you, Willow really surprised me with that counterspell. I didn't know she was that powerful a witch."  
  
"She surprised me, too," Buffy said, "I knew she'd been studying witchcraft, but I hadn't known she'd gotten that good, either. I'm glad she's on our side."  
  
When the Slayers arrived at the Summers residence, Faith immediately headed for the kitchen. She had a major case of the munchies after today's events. Buffy headed upstairs to look for her mother after the main floor proved deserted.  
  
Buffy silently pushed open the door to her mother's room to peek inside. The first thing she saw was the clothes scattered over the floor. She ignored them; the spell had just been broken and her mother obviously hadn't had much time to come back to herself, let alone clean up the teenager-style mess.  
  
Buffy stepped fully into the room when she saw the lump under the covers, relieved that her mother was home and not still out somewhere wandering around. Buffy quietly approached the bed, intent merely on making sure her mother was sleeping peacefully. Her hand flew to her mouth to suppress the outcry that threatened when saw that her mother was not alone. The light from the moon and the streetlights clearly illuminating the faces of the bed's two occupants.  
  
Buffy stared at the faces in shock. She turned and darted from the room, a part of her mind amazed that she still had the ability to remember to not slam the door (and possibly awaken the bed's occupants). But the larger part kept replaying those few seconds when she'd seen the peaceful serenity on the sleeping faces of her mother and her Watcher. And the tiny smile on her mother's lips.  
  
[Whoa!] Buffy thought, leaning against the hallway wall for support, [Tomorrow morning is going to be *so* bizarre.]  
  
Buffy's head snapped up and she stared at her mother's bedroom door, surprised by her own reaction. She wasn't upset about the situation she'd stumbled across, quite the opposite in fact. She hoped that when morning did roll around, what had obviously taken place between Giles and her mother didn't cause too many problems.  
  
When Buffy returned downstairs to the kitchen, she found Faith busy attacking a huge bowl of ice cream. She grabbed a bowl of her own from the cupboard and began serving herself some cookies and cream goodness.  
  
"Hey," Faith said, amused, "I guess the need to find and watch over the Watcher is no match for frozen treats, huh?"  
  
"No need to go looking anywhere," Buffy replied, "I know exactly where Giles is."  
  
The spoon halted halfway to Faith's mouth. Her eyebrows rose in question.  
  
"So," Faith finally asked after Buffy finished filling her bowl, "Where is he?"  
  
"Upstairs," Buffy replied with an impish grin, "He and my Mom are doing an amazing imitation of a pair of spoons in a drawer."  
  
Faith's spoonful of ice cream clattered to the table.  
  
"Are you serious?" Faith blurted, then continued when Buffy nodded, "And you're not wigged?"  
  
"Actually," Buffy answered, "I'm kinda hoping that there's more to it than the mondo-impulsiveness of that damned spell. Maybe something good can come from it."  
  
Faith watched in fascination as Buffy turned her attention to the bowl of ice cream in front of her and dug in. Faith picked up her own spoon again, shaking her head. One thing for sure, Sunnydale was never boring. Living here was like living in the middle of a soap opera of the weirdest kind.  
  
=====  
  
Three weeks later  
  
Buffy led Giles into the living room. This had to stop. Now. The past three weeks had been way too stessful with both her mother and Watcher walking on eggshells where Buffy was concerned and totally avoiding each other. Buffy couldn't help but flash back to the source of the problem. Once again, she was going to have to be the adult and force the adults to face the childishness of their behaviour.  
  
Buffy shook her head with a snort when Giles froze in his tracks. She grabbed his arm and virtually dragged him over to the couch where her mother sat twisting a tea towel nervously.  
  
"Giles," Buffy commanded, "Sit down."  
  
Buffy put her hands on her hips in exasperation when Giles sat at the opposite end of the couch, refusing to even look at Joyce. Enough was enough. These two were going to settle this, one way or the other.  
  
"All right," Buffy began, "The two of you have been dancing around the issue for three weeks now and it's time to stop. I'm going to go out on patrol, but you are going to talk. You have to face each other and what happened between you that night. Decide whether it was a mistake or not, and what you're going to do now. When I get home, I expect you two to have reached a conclusion you both can accept."  
  
"Decide whether or *not* it was a mistake?" Joyce asked, surprised by Buffy's wording.  
  
"Well," Buffy said, feeling her face starting to heat, "When I looked in on you that night and found you together, the looks on your faces (even asleep) seemed...well...happy."  
  
Giles and Joyce finally looked at each other at this revelation. They both coloured slightly and looked away.  
  
"I checked out the spell," Buffy continued, "And I think Xander had the best paraphrase: 'They all seemed totally wasted, but without the slurred speech or falling down parts'. That spell turned off your impulse control and eliminated your inhibitions, like being drunk. So maybe what happened that night wasn't a mistake if you don't want it to be. I'm not suggesting running off to Vegas or anything, but you guys *need* to talk about it and decide if it was a momentary whim or because of something deeper. I'm leaving now. Me Slay, you talk."  
  
Buffy turned and rushed out of the house, her face burning. She couldn't believe she'd just said all that. She headed toward the park. A little undead activity was what she needed to get her mind off everything for a few hours.  
  
=====  
  
The lights were still on when Buffy returned home two hours later, dusty and sweaty, but much calmer. She paused at the front door a moment, wondering if Giles and her mother had worked things out or if they'd bailed on the whole process as soon as she was out of the house. She took a deep breath and went inside, her mouth opening to call out that she was home.  
  
All the breath rushed out of her body and her bottom jaw just hung open. Giles and her mother were curled up on the couch, asleep in each other's arms. On the TV, Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks were getting in the elevator at the top of the Empire State building.  
  
[Sleepless In Seattle?] Buffy thought, amazed, [Mom actually got him to watch a 'chick flick' with her? I guess I was right, they do 'have feelings' for each other.]  
  
Buffy stood silently for several seconds pondering that possibility. Something she once said to Jenny Calender popped into her head:  
  
"I don't want him to be lonely. I don't want anyone to."  
  
At the time, Buffy hadn't really thought about it, but that applied to her mother as well. And as wigsome as the thought of her mother and Giles getting together was at first glance, Buffy surprised herself by admitting that they did look good together. And there was no big secret to keep since the Slayer gig was already out in the open with them. Buffy sighed and a smile crept onto her face.  
  
They looked cute cuddled together like that.  
  
[Kinda makes you wanna go 'awww',] Buffy thought irreverently.  
  
Buffy silently crossed over to the couch and picked the Afghan off the back. She unfolded it and gently drew it across her mother's supine form. She removed Giles' glasses, careful not to wake him, and set them on the end table. She turned off the TV and the VCR and headed for the stairs. But she paused at the bottom step to gaze fondly at her Watcher.  
  
[If this gets serious, Giles,] she told him silently, [I hope you don't expect me to call you 'Dad'.]  
  
Buffy climbed the stairs to her room grinning. Teasing Giles was about to get very interesting.  
  
THE END 


End file.
